Well,

I’ve been wanting to share  and today is perfect.  The sun can’t decide and the clouds are low at the moment.  I’m in the garden and my sister told me it looks nice.  She was being kind and I’m pretty sure she wanted me to feel good
about my gardening skills and what’s happening back here. It’s pretty overgrown and I think if it was her garden it would look different. She, my sister, is a gardener extraordinaire. There are five of us, well three of us now that Nano and Papa are with Jesus, but there Were five of us, and I am the only one who wasn’t born with a green thumb. It’s been a bit hard on my self esteem to know that I am disappointingly inadequate when it comes to gardening.
Oh well
I’m very good at sitting and looking at the garden, whatever state it’s in at the moment.
So here I do sit and I’ve missed you all.
Before Nano left us I thought of telling and then I didn’t feel like it because, well, sometimes it seems that stories are a poor representation of the real thing, the hard copy, the flesh and blood
And then
my sister came and I remembered again.
It makes me laugh and my sister is gone, back to her own home and I wish her own home was closer to my home and we could talk eyeball to eyeball more often when I’m with her and she’s bossy like our mama was and then I think that I’m kind of bossy too and we both
she and me
are pretty much pretty similar to her, our mama.

So here’s what I wanted to tell you.

Make sure you do nice things

Because I’m bossy and we are both bossy and we, as they say these days
Own It
I think it’s acceptable to tell you and not just suggest that you Do Nice Things. Not always planned.  Sometimes random.  It’s actually fun and it will make you happy and it becomes sort of a bit selfish because in as much as it makes the receiver of the kindness happy, it makes the giver happy too.
win/win

So here’s the story. It’s kind of a few stories intertwined and I like the word intertwined because it makes me think of three or four things twisted nicely, beautifully together to create something bigger and stronger, helpful, beneficial, impactful.   I googled the word effective.

People have asked which one of us is older. Now, that shouldn’t be a big deal aside from the fact that she my sister, is more than eight years older than me. You can see how it might not  sit well with me it’s okay with her  that some folks think I’m the elder of the two.   She was eight going on nine when I was born and she efficiently took on the job of Big Sister. She let me use her doll buggy and showed me how to swaddle my Baby. She read me stories and when I got a bit older and she had stuff going on and I went to bed before she got home at night, sometimes she would come into my room when I was sleeping, pick me up and take me to her bed to sleep with her. Sometimes I would ask before she left for the evening if I could sleep with her and she would say I couldn’t and then, joy of joys I would wake up in the morning in her bed.
My first venture into the world of sleepovers.
From the start we were different.  Both of my siblings were the things I wasn’t.  My brother Never got into trouble.  He was the perfect child.  My sister was Almost perfect but not as perfect as our brother.  I ran around and talked non stop and disobeyed and got spanked yep and did things that got me into trouble
and they didn’t. My sister was careful and fairly quiet and listened and did what she was told
and I didn’t
She went away to Bible School when I was ten. I cried for a week.

We moved to Vancouver from the little village in Alberta, when I was twelve. My sister had already been away for three years by then she returned for Christmas and Summertime of course and she came back a year after that, to live with us again and I was pretty happy about it.
When I was twelve I started babysitting and did lots of it.
We lived in a little townhouse complex called Ceaderbrook Village and it was nestled off the main road, on the north shore, under the ski lift, a few kilometers from the church where Papa was pastor.
I’ve told you that Nano Did.
Nano Did, for all kinds of people at all kinds of times.
I’m one of the ones she Did for.
I have so many memories of those years. The years when I was 12, 13, 14…
Here’s one.
We had just moved to Vancouver and there was a family who wanted to take me to some sort of a church event. They had a girl just a bit younger than me and it was the perfect opportunity for me to make a new friend. Nano came home, from some sort of church meeting  and asked if I would like to go along with this family the very next night. Well me, the gal who has always been keen on meeting new people, was very keen indeed.
The family was going to pick me up the next evening. So what did Nano do? and I can remember it even now She made a statement, that’s what she did.
“I think it would be nice for you to have a new dress.”   Now as lovely as this was, it was not unusual.  Nano often made me a new dress or skirt or jumper.  For some reason though, this time stands out as being extra special.   She went to the store where you buy fabric and brought home the sweetest fabric of all.  It was mauve and checked and she made me a dress and we put pony tails in my hair and I went to the corner and the family picked me up and I got to be friends with their girl and we were Best friends for a lot of years after that and then 12 years after that first meeting I was her maid of honour and a month later she was my matron of honour.
That was a very nice thing Nano did for me and I think about it often.

Sometimes when I went to babysit, just down the stairs and along the sidewalk, I would get hungry. Sometimes it was 8:00 and sometimes it was 9:30 and my little charges were sound asleep in their beds. I would call Nano back when everybody had a phone either on the table or hanging on the wall and I’d ask if she might be able to bring me something to eat. She would put down whatever she was doing and make me a sandwich and walk down the stairs and along the sidewalk, open the door and hand me my snack so I wouldn’t be hungry.  She never sighed.  She never groaned.  She never told me I was spoiled and I could wait and have a bowl of bran when I got home. She just Did for me.
That was a very nice thing Nano did for me and I think about it often.

I should have counted but when you are 12, 13, 14, you don’t think about remembering nice things that people do for you, so I didn’t
count
but so many times my mama and then my mama and sister together, did nice things for me. Like the times when I would be babysitting and they would run to the store for something. I would come home from babysitting and there, on my bed, in the room I shared with my sister and that was the most fun thing because I was just an adolescent who was learning about life and she was all grown up and working and she liked sharing a room with me and we laughed and talked and she was 8 1/2 years older than me. would be a surprise
something. Not an expensive something, but there it sat and they had thought of me and one time it was a bag for carrying books and other things and it was one of those woven bags that we all liked back in 1972.
That was a very nice thing Nano and Sister did and I think about it often.

Jan and I did some reminiscing last week and we like to do that because
well, that’s just what we’re like.
I reminded her of the time she took me shopping and bought me my first pair of high waisted palazzo pants. I don’t even remember how to spell palazzo They were navy and she bought me a navy and white shirt to go with them and Nano and Papa didn’t have a lot of money and Nano made all of my dresses and that day,
That Day
was about the best day ever.  I was 13 and boy did I feel pretty stylish.
It was such a nice thing Jan did and I don’t think about it often but when I do
I am thankful and it makes me happy.
Then there was the time when our mama and Papa were away, likely visiting mama’s mother who lived far far away in Ontario.  My Nano was not well and even though our mom and dad had almost no extra money, they spent what they needed to spend to do the things God asked them to do. Caring for ailing parents and helping people who needed help were some of the things. Anyway, I was 13 and my sister was pretty popular. I don’t think I would be telling tales if I mentioned she was pretty popular with the boys.  Anyway, she was going to a dinner for Young Adults from some church. Yep and she brought me with her. It was the first time I ever ate tacos. I had dinner with the cool kids and it’s a memory deep down.

I learned
from those two
Nano
&
Jan
how to do nice things.
They did’t tell me I needed to do something nice in return. They didn’t tell me I was a silly girl and didn’t deserve anything even though lots of times that would have been accurate.
They just did nice things and I learned. As a matter of fact, there were Nice Things swirling all around back when. Papa, Nano, Jan, Rod, were nice people
and I saw and learned.  I learned that to Do isn’t always our first choice.  To Do is not always convenient.  To Do is always good.

No matter who we are, where we’ve come from or what kind of family we have or had, we can learn how to think of others
First.
We can do nice things.

My sister was here.
She came to visit and the last time we sat on the dock, Nano was sitting next to us and the last time we paddled the kayaks Nano was watching, either from a chair or from the cottage window. We talked about how much Nano would have loved to be there with us. We talked and
We didn’t cry last week, when we talked of Nano. We actually laughed about how she would have told me it was time to get my hair cut and we remembered how our mama was always in the kitchen when she wasn’t at the sewing machine or on the couch with her knitting, or in the garden weeding, or drinking tea with Papa, or visiting someone who needed a kindness.   When she came to visit, either of us, in our own homes, she stepped into the kitchen and got to work.  We did the things we needed to do with our children and she did the cooking.  She asked what we wanted for dinner.  We provided the groceries and she fed us.
She Did.
There were a few times last week when I looked over at my sister and said “oh, my goodness, gracious! That was mom. You sounded just like mom” and she did.
I’ll tell you the time we almost cried.
I almost cried.
When we talked about how we lived so far from our relatives. We never had cousins or aunts or uncles close.   We had to find some who weren’t blood, but were the next best thing.  God gave us the people we needed when we needed them.  He not only provided for our physical needs.  He provided people.  We learned to appreciate people.
Family is good and if there is heartbreak for us it is that there are so many we didn’t know. There is sadness that we, Three kids and our beloved parents lived far from each other after we were grown. When I was 14 my sister got married. she moved far away, to Ontario. I cried for a month.  That’s all I’ll say about it except that a few years later I got married and moved to Ontario. Unfortunately she and her family had moved to Alberta three years before that. Ships in the night.

The happy thing though, is how special it is when we see each other. The times we get together are dear times and we drink them in. She and I face~timed our brother and our sister in law one day when we were on the dock last week. They are three provinces away and We showed them around and we talked and it was a good time.

I am who I am and I do much of what I do because it was modeled for me. My sister didn’t Do those things, my mother didn’t Do those things, for praise or so they would get the proverbial pat on the back.
My mom and My sister Did because they knew
to Do is Good. It is kind.
They were kind
My sister is still kind.  She watered plants and washed dishes.  She changed her sheets and folded towels.  She chopped and stirred and laughed and talked and bossed and encouraged.  She listened and we are not so different now that we are grown and getting older.
She is my friend

If I could open a little cafe, it would be called

Nano’s kitchen

Or maybe it’s name would be

cookies and milk,

or, hmmm, perhaps,

Pam’s place.

I just don’t know. The naming of it might be the hardest part.  At the cafe we would serve good old fashioned favourites.  Like Nano’s mac and cheese and Nano’s brownies.  Grilled cheese sandwiches made with the very best cheddar and breaded chicken fingers that are crispy on the outside and moist and delicious on the inside.
Anyway,
until that day comes, I’ll just keep posting my recipes here, for you to try in your own kitchen.
A couple of weeks ago I noticed some people posting breakfast cookie recipes on Instagram. Now, cookies are my fave and you know very well that if I had to choose one dessert for the rest of my life, it would have to be chocolate chip cookies, fresh and warm. Well, not just any chocolate chip cookies. They would need to be a bit crisp and bit cakey and they would have a ton of chocolate chips and they would be thick and chewy.

Well, back to the breakfast cookie idea. I actually tried one of the recipes that seemed to be wildly popular and quite frankly, it left me a bit underwhelmed. It wasn’t quite sweet enough and one of my sons suggested it was maybe just a bit too seedy. It just wasn’t quite right in my opinion so I set out to create my own. Because really, I can’t think of anything better to have with a delicious cappuccino than a yummy and yes, healthy, cookie.

Before you go to the breakfast cookie page though, I wonder if you know the difference between

one cup_(dates)___chopped and one cup of chopped_(dates)__?
Do you?

1/2 cup (of dates) chopped means that you measure one cup and then you chop it.
1/2 cup of chopped (dates) means that you chop first and then measure it.
I’m not kidding.
The amounts are different. Really! Hmmm, let’s try it this way. If the verb (chopped) comes after the noun (dates, apricots, almonds) you measure first, chop second.
If the verb (chopped) comes before the noun (dates, apricots, almonds) you chop first and measure second. It makes a difference to the amounts.  Just a little English lesson!
Clear as mud? Okay, don’t worry about it! The dried fruit and nut amounts in this recipe are not large measurements so it won’t make a huge difference.

Feel free to hop over to the breakfast cookie recipe and if you decide to make them, let me know how it goes.

If you really want to try them and you just don’t have the time or energy to get them made, let me know. I will be happy to make some for you to purchase.

Happy Eating.

♥

So it’s a spectacular day here in Southern Ontario and I set my alarm for bright and early.

You see

I needed to be up and preparing for my coffee guest. You know me! I like to have something fresh and even warm, to serve when someone arrives at my table.

I was pretty excited when I went to bed because I had come up with a fantastic Loaf idea. It’s Christmas season so obviously it needed to have some red in the ingredient list. I adore dates and find them to be a most excellent sweetness source, so clearly the recipe needed some dates. Walnuts are good for us and who doesn’t like a little crunch in their loaf?
A bit of citrus zest always adds some depth of flavour and since I had a couple of navel oranges and two lemons sitting on my fruit plate, I knew the recipe would include one or the other.

Now to digress for just a minute, I woke up this morning in a bit of a sweat as the result of a Terrible dream. A nightmare really.

You see

in my dream/nightmare, my daughter in law was not speaking to me and her mother was on side with her silence. Now, I have never had an altercation with my almost perfect daughter in law so you can maybe understand my angst. “Not Speaking to people” is not an activity we practice in the Staley family.  The crux of the issue was my
“grandma name”. Jenn had decided it should be
Nafasshhhaashshsshhhh (I may be spelling it wrong but you get the gist and I’m trying to forget)
The reason for this name was that I sometimes talk too much and Jenn thought it a good idea to have strategic
ssshhhhh’s in my grandma name. Well the trouble came about when I decided I really must speak up and I expressed my dislike of the name.
Since Jenn had taken it upon herself to have the name inscribed on slippers, name tags and hair clips (not sure why she felt I would be interested in hair clips) and had gone to a whole lot of work and expense
she was not Happy!

I woke up in a sweat, as I mentioned.

However, my relief was enormous when I realized this had actually been a (terrible) dream and not only that, but I had a special guest to look forward to this morning.
I jumped out of bed and came to the kitchen to begin preparing.
I decided my new creation would be called
Date, cranberry, orange breakfast Loaf and although it is a rather long name, each of the mentioned ingredients deserve recognition in the name.
I’m telling you, it is DELICIOUS.

Well back to my story!

I prepared the table and lit the candles and got out my best cake plate and arranged everything nicely.
I put my favourite spotify play list on.   It’s called Acoustic Christmas!
Then I realized it was 9:45 and she was coming at 10:30 so I raced upstairs and jumped into the shower. Wouldn’t you know it, today was hair wash day which was going to take longer. I hadn’t decided what to wear so I figured that out while applying shampoo.
Jumped out and got myself dried and coiffed.

Rob’s grandpa used to say to his beloved wife
“there’s no harm in trying, Izzy” (Her name was Isabel. My mom’s middle name was Isabel. I Love the name Isabel)

I arrived at the kitchen with 10 minutes to spare and got the coffee pot turned to ON.

And then

10:40 came and then 10:45 and I started to wonder,
if she had forgotten,
Dear Soul.
She likely wouldn’t want me to call her elderly, but 80 has come and gone on her calendar, so, well, a little extra grace is appropriate.
HOWEVER
You may or may not know that I have a tendency to get times and dates
WRONG!

I went to my phone and checked and rechecked the day and time of our get together and low and behold
it wasn’t my friend who was mistaken.

It was me. She is coming

Tomorrow!

Since Fresh and Warm is my favourite, I will decide whether or not I will make something else for our Coffee Table!

Nevertheless
I now have some beautiful Date, cranberry, orange breakfast Loaves to give away and that is a lovely thing.

I hope you have a joy filled Last Week of November and whatever may be frustrating you as the sun shines outside, remember that there is always Something to be thankful for and excited about, regardless of your inadequacies and concerns.

♥

Hi Mom!
It’s me!
You aren’t here to listen but I’m just going to get started, as if you were on the other end of the phone, or maybe even sitting beside me with your knitting.

This morning we sang Ten Thousand Reasons at church and it was okay. I felt a bit quivery for a second but I sang it out, with vigor.
And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
still my soul will sing your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore

With Vigor, mom.

Yesterday was the third annual Brunch and Apron Get Together.  It was a ton of work of course, but I know that you know how worth it work is.  Do it and watch others enjoy your efforts.  Such Joy it gave you and such Joy it gives me.  Thank you!  Actually I have been thinking lately about work and what a privilege it is to be healthy and strong and able.  As long as God allows me to be strong I will do what needs doing, keeping my eyes on Him and not on the obstructions along the path.

I told you often, before you went to Jesus, that I have the Best friends. You met so many of them over the years and You knew that God blessed me with people who could be my family since my own family was so far away. God was kind to give me family who were near.  I know if you could actually hear me and talk back to me you would ask if Fiona was here yesterday.  She sure was and as usual, she was such a huge help.  And Becky, she was amazing.  After the goings on were over and everyone was gone, the afternoon was also gone.  I needed to get to Fabricland before it closed because one of the fabrics I had made up into aprons sold out.  It was pretty, mom.  You would have loved that it had cardinals all over it.  Anyway, I need to make six more and I didn’t want to take a chance that it would be gone so off I went to get six more metres.  When I got home Becky had the dishwasher loaded, Again and the table cleaned off and the table cloth ready for the wash and the aprons back in the sewing room and I was so so thankful.  Between Fiona’s help and Becky’s help the work load was  much lighter.  I was thankful.  Oh I almost forgot, Becky has started to paint little cards.  They are just beautiful and she even had her own “booth” yesterday at the brunch.
HAHA

You knew me pretty well.
HAHA
did you Ever.
More People More Better. You understood that,
even though you weren’t really of the same conviction. You enjoyed some fellowship but you liked your alone time too.  That’s likely how you were able to survive and even thrive, albeit sadly at times, after dad was gone.

You were more sensible than me and I guess the apple fell close to the tree but rolled away a bit.
LOL

Friends
they are just such a blessing. These friends, well Some are oooollld. Not old in age although I guess that’s happening too, but oooold as in I’ve known them
long and hard
deep and wide
Some of them are Not old friends and I don’t really know them well, but new friends can become dear quickly. New or old, friends are a gift.  We don’t take them for granted do we mom.

It wouldn’t surprise you to know that I didn’t have a lot of time to stop and chat yesterday. I was running around and serving food and showing aprons. It was so much fun. I was extremely tired at the end of the day but as always, it was worth the effort.

You used to love hearing about my menu. It’s a thing that makes my heart hurt, that I can’t tell you about it.
I like to have a selection of food, as you know and everybody seemed to enjoy the choices yesterday.
I made
Fennel and cheese dip. It was delicious.

I also made Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake. You would have loved the coffee cake.
I know you would like it best, warm from the oven.
Oh, that reminds me, I wanted to tell you that I went to a coffee shop recently and ordered a sort of date pastry. The young man serving me asked if I wanted it heated. Well for goodness sake, I looked at him and said
“Yes, I do, thanks for asking” and I thought of you right then and there. I felt a bit sad that I couldn’t call you up and tell you about it. Dates remind me of you and I have a date square whenever I can find a good one. I still haven’t found the perfect recipe but I Have found a couple of places that employ chefs who can produce a good date square, with lots of dates. Of course the heating of muffins and pastries Always reminds me of you. I wish I could remember who I was telling the other day that if you asked for a muffin and were told that it couldn’t be heated, you would usually change your mind. What’s the point in having a cold muffin? Oh I know the answer, but it seems many don’t.
HAHA

The fritatta was so good mom. I know it would not have been your favourite, not loving eggy dishes, but I know you would have tried a piece and you would have told me how good it was and that would have been special seeing as how I would have known it wasn’t your first choice of brunch options.  A piece of toast and a fried egg was your first choice, for sure. And maybe a piece of bacon. Oh and marmalade of course.
HAHA

You would LOVE this year’s fabrics. I have taken a few trips to the fabric store this fall.
HAHA

That’s for sure.
I know, I wish you could have gone along with me. I was telling someone last week how you used to feel the cotton and tell me what you thought of the quality. I think you would be impressed with my fabric judgement decision making skills. I’ve learned alot.
Practice makes perfect.
HAHA

While I was cooking, late on Friday night, I was thinking about the best gift you ever gave me. It was when you left that first package of chicken out on the counter when you started your job at Murchies, back in 1973. Man, I was fourteen. Can you believe how fast time flies? You asked if I would “do something” with it and make dinner that night. I can’t remember exactly but I’m pretty sure I said “sure”. I had No experience but accepted the challenge and that was the beginning
of a whole new World for me.
After that you would just leave the meat out and the vegetables were in the fridge and when you came home, dinner was ready. It gave me something to do after school and mom
I Love creating recipes now. Remember some of the times over the years when you would call and ask what I was doing and I would tell you and you would say
“Oh My, Dear. Let me know how it turns out”. I don’t think I ever told you how warm and cozy I always felt, even when I was 50, when you would call me “Dear”. Such a little word and I loved being Dear.
Memories can be good and bad.  I have some of each.  It’s funny how so many past times seemed insignificant and weren’t.  You maybe wouldn’t even remember how I liked  petting your little beaver jacket when we were sitting in church, leaning against you and not listening to a single word but just petting you and knowing I was Loved with a capital L.

I’m going to say “see you Later” now. It’s been fun to talk to you, even though I can’t hear your voice answering me back.  I think I’ll do it again.  I hope you and dad are together and I wonder with such curiosity what it’s like there
in Heaven. I can wonder all I want, but I won’t know until I get there
and that’s okay. I have lots to keep me busy here. I’m trying to listen carefully mom. You and I both know that’s no easy task for me but I’m learning bit by bit and I have things to take care of and look after between now and then.

I Love you mom

♥